Nick Eubanks has an excellent case study on SearchEngineWatch demonstrating how a content-based web site, built on an existing publishing platform, can reach high levels of traffic without doing any pro-active link-building activity.

Here's the gist of the story: "Useful content and a solid, well-researched roadmap is the best way to acquire organic traffic.

If your content is serving a purpose, is accessible, and is easy to consume – your readers will build all of the links you will ever need, and your online presence will flourish as a by-product.

Put in the time, do the research, build your own websites, talk to everyone you can, TEST, and you will start seeing improvements in your organic search."

Engaging customers online requires more than just being on the same social networks they are on. You first need to determine what your goals are for social media, how to measure the success of those goals, what tactics to use in your plan, and how to execute that plan. In other words, you need a strategy.

Click on the link for the complete infographic, including details on what options are available in terms of social media platforms, the different values of each, and how they relate to your potential needs.

Additionally, learn about how well they perform with regard to the 4 defined steps in developing a effective social media plan of action, which are:

I really enjoyed this article due to the simplicity of the inforgraphic showcasing the information in a colourful and engaging way. As there are several types of social media such as facebook, twitter and tumblr (blogs) having media stratergy for each one is important. All of them have different communiction features and different target audiences. Kamal has chosen well and agreeing with emma that this really links well with the week 7 lecture topic.

This is a good article as it uses infographics which makes it easier to understand and take in the idea of developing and implementing a media strategy and in this case for social media. The first 4 steps are the basics to developing a strategy and then it expands on it with not great detail but just the quick basic information one needs to know. Although one thing it doesn't mention though is analyzing a market or finding a target market which I beleive helps within the process of developing a strategy, knowing what potential customers to target or what market or segment.

In today’s market, social media has become an essential factor of building a business strategy. It is very important that we approach and engage customers through social sites. In the beginning of this article, it shows that a successful social media strategy depends on establishing a sound business goal. Goals must be defined clearly to utilize the appropriate social media in achieving the business goal. After the goals are set, it is also important to define the metrics and tactics. This is because these will measure whether the social media efforts are creating consideration and conversions with the target audience. Through this process, companies can evaluate and measure success and failures, and prepare for a better business strategy to succeed in social media.

I chose this infographic and article from Blackbaud because it helps you go from social media to social business. It was written for non-profits but it definitely applies to any business as well.

By understanding how to evaluate people by their degree of influence and their ability to help change behavior in others can be invaluable to you and your organization.

**It's also important to use this information to understand how you and your organization fit into this mix. They say knowledge is power, once you have a clearer picture, you can shift what you're doing and take your business or cause to the next level for greater results.

Intro:

"Understanding the Value of Your Social Media Influencers: How to Identify and Empower Those Who Can Engage an Entire Community!

(Download the White Paper Today!)"

Here are some highlights:

**Learn how to use the information your consitiuents are sharing to attract more people to your mission, campaign.

**Learn how to analyze your database and assign social scores to engagers that represents their ability to interact with and influence others across their online networks

**Based on the social score you assign to these individuals, you can then segment them into one of four categories, each of which plays a diferent role on social networks, relevant to your business

Here are the categories:

Key Influencers - They have a powerful impact not only the people they know but also others they don't know. Their posts are widely spread and shared by more people than many other people

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Engagers - These people have well-established social networks and are strong influencers of people they know personally

Multichannel Consumers - They enjoy keeping up with social media conent and occasionally participate. Their influence is not a dominent part of their persona

Standard Consumers These engagers read and watc updates more than they create new content or make comments. They are more influenced by family and friends.

Selected by Jan Gordon covering "Content Curation, Social Business and Beyond"

With the available amount of social networks available nowadays, it is difficult at times to choose the best ones for your business. This post gives you valuable tips on planning your social strategy . . .

Wow, an amazing way to start or improve your social media strategy. In this post you'll find all what you need to do a great job! [note mg]

Clarify your objectives and discover your route to social media success. This step-by-step guide will take you from tentative novice to intrepid explorer, and help you make the right decisions unique to your business.

It is no longer a question of IF companies should execute a social media strategy. The question for most companies is HOW to best execute a meaningful and engaging approach that generates results. With so many social media marketing options available, marketers must also decide best practices and what tactics to avoid.

We all make mistakes as marketers and it’s important that we not only learn from those mistakes but share with others so that they can avoid them. I hope that the 20 Social Media Marketing Do’s and Don’ts that I’ve provided within this article not only entertain you but make you think about your current social media strategy...

One of the most pressing questions whether you're new to social media or a social media maven is: What's the best way to post information or share content to optimize your reach

Compendium, a content marketing firm conducted a study of more than 200 companies to determine how social media professionals may optimize their engagement with both business-to-business-to-consumer conversations.

What they found is consistent with what Ted Nguyen has experienced and he has demonstrated that he clearly knows what he's doing

Here are some highlights:

"My experience in sharing more than 21,000 tweets and Facebook posts to my more than 82,000 Twitter followers and Facebook friends is consistent with the study’s findings"

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**I recommend the hours between 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. (Pacific Time) or 1 to 4 p.m. (Eastern Time) are the best times for Twitter and Facebook to optimize social engagement engagement.

**I find that tweets shared earlier in the week do better than those sent later in the week. I also have discovered that Facebook posts do best Wednesday early afternoon.

**if you look at Ted's social shares, they run around the clock. he tries his best to engage with people in real time or near real time.

Selected by Jan Gordon covering: "Curation, Social Business and Beyond"

Great post by Kim Garst, Twitter can be a very powerful tool to build your business if you use it wisely.

Intro:

The purpose of Twitter and all social media, is not to make money, but to brand YOU and your business and build relationships with potential and existing customers. The money will follow if you put your customers FIRST.

**Mix your "business" talk with "life" talk

Excerpt::

"Twitter challenges personal brands to reach out to their audience differently than they would in traditional marketing and/or social media platforms."

Here are some highlights that caught my attention:

**The resource sharing tweet - Find a great article or a resource that you know your target audience could benefit from

**The quotable tweet - This one speaks for itself

**Tip of the Day Tweet - great way to provide relevant content to your target audience by providing them a valuable piece of info that they can use either personally or profesionally. This also builds vlaue for you as an expert within your niche.

Selected by Jan Gordon covering "Content Curation, Social Business and Beyond"

Twitter has quickly become a favorite part of content marketing strategies employed by most businesses. The 140 character limit means that it doesn’t take much work, users have little inhibition about following quality profiles and it’s already optimized for mobile. Curating a quality Twitter feed lends itself to an answer for so many marketing questions that it would be hard to list them all here.

Still yet, lots of users have no idea how to make 140 characters count. What we end up with is Twitter feeds consisting primarily of links and quotes. Quotes are an obvious place to start when you want concise snippets of text that convey wisdom and evoke strong emotions. In fact, the most successful Twitter users are almost always inspirational, funny or educational in nature. However, followers don’t want to follow a copy of someone that’s already in their feed, and as an online influencer you don’t want to be pigeonholed.

It is no longer a question of IF companies should execute a social media strategy. The question for most companies is HOW to best execute a meaningful and engaging approach that generates results. With so many social media marketing options available, marketers must also decide best practices and what tactics to avoid.

We all make mistakes as marketers and it’s important that we not only learn from those mistakes but share with others so that they can avoid them. I hope that the 20 Social Media Marketing Do’s and Don’ts that I’ve provided within this article not only entertain you but make you think about your current social media strategy...

Sharing your scoops to your social media accounts is a must to distribute your curated content. Not only will it drive traffic and leads through your content, but it will help show your expertise with your followers.

Integrating your curated content to your website or blog will allow you to increase your website visitors’ engagement, boost SEO and acquire new visitors. By redirecting your social media traffic to your website, Scoop.it will also help you generate more qualified traffic and leads from your curation work.

Distributing your curated content through a newsletter is a great way to nurture and engage your email subscribers will developing your traffic and visibility.
Creating engaging newsletters with your curated content is really easy.